We had Josh, Avery’s Dad, as a guest to talk about Hanukah. He read us a story about some of the things to do to get ready for Hanukah. He explained the story of Hanukah involving a bully named Antiochus not allowing Jews to believe in their God. He had his soldiers trash the temple which was very special to the Jews. There was dirt, garbage, and many things that the soldiers broke such as the menorah and the oil.

The Jews fought back under the Maccabees and after many years they won the battle. Upon arriving at the temple, they found no menorah and only a small amount of oil to burn. They built a new menorah and used the oil that they had left which would last for only one night. The Hanukah miracle was in the oil lasting for eight nights which is why Hanukah is celebrated for eight days.

To remember the miracle, we made doughnuts using oil. We talked while making the doughnuts about why the oil was special. Hopefully, they will be able to tell you about the miracle.

Josh also brought each of the kids a dreidel to keep. I have never seen so much spinning before. As a matter of fact, we were making invitations for our Winter Celebration using a dreidel and blue paint and by the time they sat down to make their invitation, most had mastered their little dreidels and were doing well with the larger ones.

We read “All About Me” by Barkley Orehovec, “All About Me” by Finn Van Metre, and “All About Me” by Aria Van Metre. The kids have been practicing reading by reading their books to each other after snack. It is great to watch them and listen to them. When we read them out loud to the group, the kids are really proud of their work.